METHODS OF AUTOMATICALLY ACQUIRING IMAGES FROM DIGITAL MEDICAL SYSTEMS

Automated image acquisition plays an important role in a picture archi ving and communication system (PACS). However, there is no single solu tion for automated data acquisition from existing digital medical imag ing systems, We have gained a great deal of experience on automatic ac quiring data by interfacing imaging scanners of major manufacturers, I n this paper, we categorize the interface methods supported by the cur rent image scanners. This categorization consists of five architectura l models: (a) sequential chain; (b) direct interface; (c) memory acces s; (d) shared disk; and (e) interconnected network, The cost, rate of data transfer, and ease of implementation of each model are discussed, To ensure the integrity and availability of patient images in a PACS system, automated fault tolerance design in image acquisition is requi red, Based upon our field data, we report common scenarios which cause the acquisition to fail, We also describe techniques employed to auto matically restart the operations which include recovery from acquisiti on processes' errors and traps, image acquisition computer down-time o ccurrence, and shutdown occurrence of medical imaging system.